Laredo priest arrested in sex assault

Clergyman accused of raping N.Y. woman

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, June 22, 2002

Acting on a New York arrest warrant alleging rape of a woman, a Roman Catholic priest from Nigeria was arrested in his Laredo condominium Friday.

Laredo police said the Rev. Cyriacus Udegbulem, 39, who had been living in the border city since March 2000 and had worked more than a year as a Laredo hospital chaplain, was held in the Webb County Jail and was later returned to Brooklyn, N.Y., where he was sought in connection with a sexual assault that occurred in January 2000, police said.

The criminal charge developed about two months ago, after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens provided prosecutors there with the names of 36 priests against whom sexual misconduct allegations had been lodged with church officials.

Udegbulem, from the Nigerian diocese of Orlu, was working temporarily at St. Matthew's Parish in Brooklyn at the time of the offense. Details of the attack were contained in a sealed indictment, but Reuters news service, citing unnamed sources in New York, reported that the attack occurred in the church rectory as the woman sought the priest's counsel.

When confronted by church officials, the priest admitted his wrongdoing, his priestly privileges were revoked and he was instructed not to contact the woman, the spokesman said.

A few days later, Udegbulem was believed to have returned to Nigeria, DeRosa said. But without the knowledge of church officials in Brooklyn, Udegbulem relocated to Laredo, the spokesman said.

In Laredo, Bishop James A. Tamayo said in a prepared statement that Udegbulem had not had priestly faculties since August 2001, when the priest ended a 17-month stint as chaplain at Mercy Health Center.

"While working at Mercy Health Center, he did reside at Christ the King Church and did occasionally celebrate Mass," the bishop said.

Church officials would not elaborate beyond the statement, including whether they knew of Udegbulem's past.

A hospital spokeswoman would only confirm that the priest had worked there as a chaplain.

Charles J. Hynes, district attorney in Kings County, N.Y., said Udegbulem was arrested at his condo without incident at 4:45 a.m. by Laredo police and investigators from Brooklyn.

Hynes issued a statement emphasizing that the case was a rarity in his jurisdiction, which has 500 Catholic priests. Udegbulem was one of two priests accused of sexual misconduct there in 2000, he said.

With a letter of recommendation from Orlu Bishop Gregory Ochiaga, Udegbulem began working in Brooklyn in summer 1998, DeRosa said, adding that Ochiaga provided an affidavit attesting to the priest's good standing and character. A second affidavit was provided the following year to allow Udegbulem to work in Brooklyn in summer 1999, DeRosa said.

"Permission was granted by the Diocese of Brooklyn for Father Udegbulem to continue to serve in the diocese for a period of three years, at the request of Father Udegbulem with the approval of Bishop Ochiaga," DeRosa said.

"On Jan. 10, 2000, the Diocese of Brooklyn was told that Father Udegbulem was alleged to have engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior.

"Diocesan officials met with the woman on Jan. 13. The officials then met with Father Udegbulem on Jan. 16, at which time he admitted as having engaged in inappropriate behavior.

"His faculties to function as a priest in the Diocese of Brooklyn were immediately revoked and he was told not to have any contact with the victim," DeRosa said.

"The officials of the Diocese of Brooklyn encouraged the victim to report the incident to the New York Police Department. She said she did not intend to do so because she did not want her family or anyone else to know about the incident," DeRosa said, adding that the diocese provided counseling to the woman.